Grunt Tool Window

Context menu of a Gruntfile.js - Show Grunt Tasks
View | Tool Windows | Grunt

On this page:

• Accessing the Grunt Tool Window
• Building a Tree of Grunt Tasks
• Running Grunt Tasks and Targets
• Toolbar
• Context Menu of a Tree
• Context Menu of a Task or a Target

Accessing the Grunt Tool Window

View | Tool Windows | Grunt
- the tool window can be accessed this way only after you have opened it using the Show Grunt Tasks command.

The tool window is available only when:

1. The Node.js runtime environment is installed on your computer.
2. The NodeJS plugin is enabled. The plugin is bundled with WebStorm and activated by default. If the plugin is not activated, enable it on the Plugins page of the Settings / Preferences Dialog as described in Enabling and Disabling Plugins.
3. The grunt-cli package is installed globally and the grunt package is installed in the current project, see Installing Grunt for details.
4. At least one Gruntfile.js file is available in the current project.

The tool window opens when you invoke Grunt by choosing Show Grunt Tasks on the context menu of a Gruntfile.js in the Project tool window or of a Gruntfile.js opened in the editor.

As soon as you invoke Grunt, it starts building a tree of tasks according to the Gruntfile.js on which it was invoked. If a task has targets, the task is displayed as a node and the targets are listed under it.

If you have several Gruntfile.js files in your project, you can build a separate tasks tree for each of them and run tasks without abandoning the previously built tasks trees. Each tree is shown in a separate tab.

Building a Tree of Grunt Tasks

To build a tasks tree, do one of the following:

• Select the required Gruntfile.js file in the Project tool window and choose Show Grunt Tasks on the context menu of the selection.
• Open the required Gruntfile.js file in the editor and choose Show Grunt Tasks on the context menu of the editor.
• If the Grunt tool window is already opened, click on the toolbar and choose the required Gruntfile.js file from the list. WebStorm adds a new node and builds a tasks tree under it. The title of the node shows the path to the Gruntfile.js file according to which the tree is built.

Running Grunt Tasks and Targets

To run a task or a target from the tree, do one of the following:

• Double click the required task or target in the tree.
• Select the required task or target and choose Run <task name> on the context menu of the selection.
• Select the required task or target and press Enter.
• To run the default task, select the root node in the tree and choose Run default on the context menu of the selection.
• To navigate to the definition of a task or target, select the required task or target in the tree and choose Jump to source on the context menu of the selection.

The task or target execution output will be displayed in the Run tool window. The name of the target is shown in the format <task name>:<target name>. The tool window shows the Grunt output, reports the errors occurred, lists the packages or plugins that have not been found, etc. The name of the last executed task is displayed on the title bar of the tool window.

To run several tasks or targets, use the multiselect mode: hold Shift (for adjacent items) or Ctrl (for non-adjacent items) keys and select the required tasks or targets, then choose Run on the context menu of the selection.

Toolbar

Item	Tooltip	Description
	Add Gruntfile	Click this button to have a tasks tree for another Gruntfile.js file built. Choose the required Gruntfile.js file from the pop-up list. WebStorm adds a new node and builds a tasks tree under it.
	Remove Gruntfile	Click this button to remove the tasks tree under the selected node.
	Reload tasks	Click this button to have the tasks tree under the selected node re-built. You may need a tree re-built after updating the corresponding Gruntfile.js file because Grunt does not apply changes to trees on the fly.

Context Menu of a Tree

Context Menu of a Task or a Target